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Friday, February 5, 2010

On Fridays, I'm posting a job search question from one of our readers. This was a question posted in response to my posting on Linkedin Answers “Candidates - What's your most difficult job search question?”

M.M. shared that her toughest job search question was:

“What are you looking for?”

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This is a tough question, because the employer isn’t really asking what they appear to ask. The question isn’t about you…it’s about the employer, and how you will fit into their plans.

A strong answer demonstrates that the candidate and the employer are both looking for the same thing.

A sure sign that a candidate hasn’t prepared is “I want to work with an organization that values my contribution” … Duh, who doesn’t? Another tell is the self-serving answer “I want to work at a company that appreciates work-life balance, that is fun, that offers tuition reimbursement”, describing WIFM, not what you can give.

I saw a clear WIFM example the other day. A friend with 20 years of sales experience in her industry asked me for help with her resume, and when I asked “What are you looking for?” she answered … “I’d like to get out of my industry and find a sales job where I could work from home, flexible hours, without micromanagement. I don’t want to focus on prospecting, but instead develop repeat business. It doesn’t matter which industry … I can learn to sell the product”. Granted, this wasn’t an interview, but her mind was in WIFM mode.

The best way to answer is by researching the company (http://recareered.blogspot.com/2008/05/4-killer-ways-to-use-research.html), to understand their goals, problems, and challenges. Even better, talk to people at the company before the interview, to understand the company’s, departments, and hiring manager’s hot buttons (http://recareered.blogspot.com/2009/11/guerrilla-job-search-tactics.html). Answer the question to show that you are looking to solve specific problems, that the company and department happen to have – What’s In it For Them (WIFT). You might try answering “I want to work at a company with great products/services, to help them grow as a world-class provider” (if your research shows the company is trying to do just that).

Of course, one answer can’t fit all situations. Giving the help a company grow answer won’t work well for a company that is retrenching – because they have different problems to solve. It won’t work for a company that is stable and may not work for a company that is early stage (that isn’t ready to grow as a world-class provider yet).